Monster
by hellbc
Summary: With some help from his dad, the White Fang, Kakashi isn't scared of anything. oneshot, very much preGaiden


_A/N: Cute lil oneshot starring young Kakashi (about 3 or 4 years old) and Sakumo.. cause there's a serious lack of them in fics. The pukingly cute idea was thought of when I woke up during the night, couldnt sleep in my bed and tried to catch some shut-eye in the living room... only to find this weird noise outside the window that was in fact kinda creepy and kept me up a while. :P Quite conveniently I had the time to write this the morning after because there was nothing to do and my internet connection died for a few hours..._

_---_

_Long, curving claws tapping gently on the window... crooked fangs dripping with hot, stinking saliva... angry, slitted eyeballs glaring at him, seeing nothing but a fresh meal to snatch..._

Kakashi, huddled frozen under the covers in his bed, afraid to move an inch, saw it all in his mind's eye. He shut his eyes tight and tried to block it out, but the sounds - tapping on the window, some beast licking its lips hungrily - pounded in his head, refusing to let him sleep peacefully. _Go away!_ he thought desperately. _Leave me alone, go eat someone else..._

But the monster outside would not let him be, and catching a quick, cautious glance at the clock across the room told him it was past midnight - past one and two o' clock, actually. Kakashi felt sure that by sunrise the monster would leave, because honestly, what kind of monster would comes out in the daylight? But by his own estimate, the sun would not be up for another three or four hours. Another three or four hours to be spent shivering in his skin trying to hide under his blankets from some giant animal outside that would soon eat him for a snack if he didn't do something. But what could he do? Even if he had any powerful jutsu to use, the monster was at least _triple_ his size - would it even feel an attack by such a little kid like him?

_Maybe not... but I know who could beat it!_

He had no choice. It was time to bring a third party into this. Quiet as possible, and without throwing his comforter and drawing more attention to himself, Kakashi slid out of bed and crept across the wooden floor of his bedroom to the door. Slowly, but not without a bit of creaking from the hinges, he opened the door just big enough for him to get out into the hallway. Not daring to look back and see the monster's angry, snarling face, he padded straight towards the bedroom at the end of the hall. Even in the pitch black that flooded the house at this hour, Kakashi knew quite confidently where to step lightly to silence the squeaky floorboards and when to avoid a pile of dirty laundry that sat outside the bathroom.

Finally he stopped at the end of the hall, the door in front of him cracked open slightly. He could hear a slight snoring on the other side. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open and stepped inside. No turning back now.

Sprawled out, half under the covers and half out, on the left side of the bed - big enough for two, but only occupied by one these days - was his father. Kakashi stood there in relative silence for a moment, staring at his sleeping father. He knew he need not wake him up with words because, thanks to both extremely well-honed ninja senses and natural parent senses, Sakumo would in his own time drift back out of sleep when he realized his son was there in his room.

And as predicted, it wasn't long before Kakashi dimly saw his father sit up in his bed and rub the back of his neck. His spiky, silvery hair was even more unruly than usual, sticking to his forehead in some places and standing straight up in others.

"Kakashi? What is it?" he murmured in a quiet voice that sounded both tired and patient.

Kakashi opened his mouth to explain why he was up so late (early?) and bothering his dad at such an ungodly hour, but halted himself before a single syllable could escape. His father was always telling him not to be afraid, to be brave and to stick up for himself and to fight for himself if he had to... maybe he wouldn't be so quick to help him with a monster outside his window. Maybe he would tell him he had to confront it on his own, or tell him to go back to bed and ignore it like he did before, or worst of all tell him he was being ridiculous and there was absolutely no such thing as monsters. As much as he admired and adored his father, Kakashi couldn't stand being wrong or made a fool of.

"Hm?" his father's voice urged.

"Oh... uh... I...my--"

"Come on over here," Sakumo cut him off, gesturing next to him on the bed. Kakashi nodded and hopped onto the springy mattress next to his father. He sat hugging his knees loosely, not bothering to get comfortable yet.

Sakumo put a hand on his son's shoulder. "So why is it you can't sleep?"

Kakashi hesitated for another quick moment before deciding to say. "I heard something outside my window."

"Oh? And what was it?"

"I didn't see it," Kakashi admitted. "But I heard it, it was big and - it had claws and teeth - it wanted to get me!"

"Have you been awake all night?"

"I was asleep for a while. Then I woke up. I can't get it to go away," Kakashi explained. He looked down at his knees and fidgeted his fingers. "And... maybe if you could..."

Sakumo chuckled and tussled his son's hair with a big hand. "Well then, let's go and see what I can do." He shoved the covers off of himself and swung his legs out of bed, feet on the floor evenly. Kakashi, too small for his feet to touch the floor from the bed if he tried, stood up, bent down and jumped, landing with a sound thud but keeping his balance nonetheless. He followed warily as his father led the way back down the hall to his bedroom.

Striding in confidently, Sakumo said, "So where is this monster, Kakashi? I don't see anything."

Kakashi pointed to the window next to his bed. "It was there," he said desperately. "It was! I _know_ I heard it!"

"Let's see," Sakumo said, crossing the room swiftly to stand at the window, leaning forward with his hands on the windowsill. Forehead against the glass, he looked down to the ground below, glanced both left and right, and even upwards to the slightly-drooping branches of the great tree that stood in the backyard. Concluding that there was indeed nothing outside to worry over - unless one wanted to count Kama, Sakumo's faithful canine companion, snoozing at the roots of the tree, but he would only ever bark at a stranger and was completely harmless to either resident Hatake - Sakumo turned around to face Kakashi and allowed himself to crack a smile.

"Nothing," he assured the boy. "Must have run off when he realized you were sending the White Fang on him, huh?"

"Mm." Kakashi joined his father at the window. Peering out through the glass himself he saw no monsters after all, and felt satisfied that he was safe again, thanks to his dad. Suddenly feeling his sleep loss come rushing back, he let out a tremendous yawn and rubbed at one of his sleepy eyes.

"Looks like back to bed for you," Sakumo said gently, pulling back the covers on the twin-size bed. Kakashi climbed in without protest and let himself be tucked in. Snuggled warmly under the blanket again with a new sense of security, he looked up at his father with heavy-lidded eyes. "Think you can sleep now?"

"Mm-hm..."

"Ah, good." He stroked little Kakashi's hair affectionately, then yawned himself. "See you in the morning, Kakashi." He made to stroll out of the room, and Kakashi had just turned onto his side, eyes shut, head resting on one arm, when he heard Sakumo's voice speak one more time. "And if you happen to hear that monster again, just open your eyes and see if you can even find it... you'll see you're fears become pretty cowardly little wretches once you show them you're not scared."

_Click_

Kakashi heard the door shut, and his father's footsteps disappeared down the hallway, and he was alone again.

For a while he could ignore everything around him, and the only noise that hit his ears was silence. His father was down the hall, at hand just in case. His dog lay sentry just outside to ward off any beast that may try and skulk its way in. And he himself was untouchable in his home, nothing could scare him or harm him if he wouldn't let it.

Off to his right, something tapped the window lightly. Kakashi opened one eye sleepily and saw nothing but a gnarled old tree branch being moved by the breeze.


End file.
